Centrifugal governor



W. W. DEAN. CENTRIFUGAL GOVERNOR.

. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.20,J919- 1,41,377.

Patented 00%. MI), 1922.

Patented Get. .10, 1922.

UITED STATES FATE WILLIAM W. DEAN, OF WILMETTE, ILLINOIS.

CENTRIFUGAL GOVERNOR.

Application filed September 20, 1919. Serial No. 325,202.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. DEAN, a citizen of the United States, a resident of Wilmette, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Governors, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to centrifugal governors, for use particularly in connection with impulse transmitting mechanisms for automatic telephone exchanges, although the use of my invention is not limited thereto but is capable of wide and extensive use in many other kinds of mechanisms.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a new and improved device of this character, having few and simple parts, and which parts are so constructed and disposed that they may be readily inspected and adiusted,without the necessity of dissembling the different parts of the governor or the mechanism of which the governor forms a part. t

It is another object of my invention to provide a governor where in the weighted ends of springs, when the governor is in operation, are thrown by centrifugal force against the inner wall of an annular ring, and in which the weighted ends of the springs, and the springs themselves may be, visible from a the outside of the device through the aperture in the ring for the purpose of inspection,

It is a further object of my invention to provide such an annular ring with an inside wall which is inclined toward the axis of rotation of the spring members and toward their point of support, and moreover, to provide an annular ring, adjustable in a longitudinal direction with respect to the said axis. By this means, I provide a simple and accurate means of adjustment whereby the spring membersmayhave varying degrees of frictional contact with the inner wall of the annular ring. It is still a further object of my invention to make this annular ring in form of a hollow screw having a head which may be engaged by a wrench or other tool for the same purpose, the said hollow screw being threaded into a portion of the frame of the mechanism with which the gov ernor is adapted to operate, so that a so called micrometer, longitudinal adjustment of the ring may be readily had. Other objects of my invention, and the invention itself will be apparent from the description of the same, following, in which description, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, and in which drawings like refer- 6O ence characters denote like parts, and, in which?- Fig. 1 shows a side view of an automatic telephone exchange impulse mechanism, commonly known in the art as a dial, in 65, which dial an embodiment of the governor of my invention is placed, to co-operate with the other working parts of the said dial.

Fig. 2 shows a rear view of the said dial in which the governor of my invention is placed, this view as well as the view of the foreoing figure showing many other exposec working parts of the dial.

Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of portions of the dial. In this figure, the. governor and certain associated parts are chiefly illustrated, being mostly illustrated in section, although a side view of certain of the parts is shown as is apparent.

Fig. 4 shows a side view of the rotatable portion of the spring governor of my invention, comprising a shaft, centrifugal springs and a gear pinion.

Fig. 5 shows a rear end view of some of the parts illustrated at Fig. 3. In this view the adjustable annularring with its hexagon head is clearly shown, and the ends of the centrifugal spring members are also shown.

Referring now to the different figures, at 6, is shown the dial plate mounted in the front of the impulse transmitter, and 1n front of which, mounted on a shaft, 7, is shown a finger hole plate 8. The dial plate,

6, forms the front wall of the dial mechanism to which the other working parts thereof are secured. Rigidly secured to this front dial plate, 6, are three supporting posts 9, 10, and 11, each of which has a threaded end, 12, of reduced cross section. Clamping nuts 13, securely clamp to the end of these posts the frame members 14; and 15 between which and the front dial plate 6, most of the working parts of the impulse transmitting dial are mounted.

Such of the various parts of the transmitting dial, as form no part of the present invention will not be herein described in detail, such reference, only being had to these parts as may be necessary to descrlbe the present invention. The dial mechanlsm outside of the governor is well known in the art and needs no detailed description.

The dial proper comprises a pair of pivot screws 16 and 17 between which a rotatable rod 18 is carried, the ends of the said screws forming bearings for the said rod, the said rod carrying a pinion 19, and a pair of leaf-spring members 20. Each of the spring members 20 carry at their outer extremities, weights, 21. The pivot screw 16 is carried by a support 22 which is rigidly secured to the frame member 14, and the pivot screw 17, is carried by the dial front plate 6. The frame member 14, has a circular hole, the wall of which is threaded, which admits the threaded hollow screw 23, which is longitudinally adjustable by co-operation of the said threads. The annular hollow screw or ring, 23, has a hexagon head 24, and an inclined inner wall 25, the direction of inclination of the said inner wall being towards the of rotation of the rod 18 and towards the point of support of the spring members 20, and which point of support is adjacent to the pinion 19.

In the operation of the dial mechanism, the function of the centrifugal governor which is geared to the other operating parts of the dial mechanism by the engagement of pinion 19 with a larger pinion 26 of the said mechanism, is to retard the speed of rotation of the said pinion 26 and thereby retard the speed at which the controlling interrupter contacts 27 are operated. The dial mecha n sm illustrated, is set for operation by a preliminary rotative movement of the finger plate 8, the said finger plate then returning to normal position under the propelling ill-- fluence of a retractile spring, which forces the finger plate 8 back to normal position, the mechanism during the returning movement of the dial simultaneously operating the interrupting contacts 27 to control an electric circuit in which these contacts are included, and the speed at which the mechanism is operated on the return of the finger plate to normal, being determined by the degree of frictional contact had by the weights 21, on the springs 20, against the inner wall of the annular ring.

By making the annular ring with its inclined inner wall longitudinally shiftable, the said inner wall is capable of being brought nearer to, or further from the said end weights and the degree of frictional contact had between the end weights and the wall, may be varied over a considerable range so that the governor will have such a degree of retarding effect upon the speed of operation of the interrupting contacts as may be desired.

It is of considerable importance in this connectionto be able to view the end weights 21 so that in adjusting the governor the springs 20 may be bent if necessary, so that both weighted ends will normally stand equidistant to the inner wall 25 of the annular ring so that even and reliable operation of the governor is had, and undue wear of one of the end weights is avoided.

By my improved construction, not only may the inner wall of the annular r1ng be adjusted to and from the weighted ends of the centrifugal springs but a good view may be had of this inner wall and the co-operating springs and weights 2]..

Having thus described a preferred em-- bodiment of my invention, 1 am aware that numerous and extensive departures may be made from the said embodiment herein illustrated and described, but without departing from the spirit of my invention, which resides in the structure defined in the following claims p 1. In a spring governor the combination with a spring, a rotatableshaft, one end of the said spring being secured to the said shaft, the other end being adapted to be deflected by centrifugal force when the said shaft is rotated, an annular member, said member, being mounted so that its inner wall may be engaged by the end of the said spring when the said spring is deflected by the power of the centrifugal force, the said wall being inclined inwardly toward the axis of rotation of the said shaft, and toward the point of support of the said spring, said annular member presenting a flared opening on one end thereof, the end of the spring entering the opening at the other end, whereby access is had to the said spring end for purpose of adjustment of the said spring.

2. In a speed controlled mechanism the combination with a centrifugal governor. a rotatable shaft, means to rotate the said shaft, a centrifugal contact member carried by the said shaft, the said contact member tending to be thrown outwardly by the power of centrifugal force when the said shaft is rotated, a ring member having an inside wall adapted to be engaged by the said contact member, the said wall being of larger diameter on that edge thereof towards the outside of the said mechanism, than on its other edge, said contact member entering the said ring member at the smaller end, said larger outside end presenting a flared opening to admit a tool for purpose of adjust- {Jnent and inspection of the'said contact mem- 3. In a spring governor the combination with a spring, a rotatable shaft, one end of the said spring being secured to the said shaft,'the other end being adapted to be deflected by centrifugal force when the said shaft is rotated, an annular member, said member being mounted so that its inner wall may be engaged by the end ofthe said spring when the said spring is deflected by the power of the centrifugal force, he said wall being inclined inwardly toward the axis of rotation of the said shaft, and toward the point of support of the said spring and means to longitudinally adjust the position of the said ring in the direction of its axis.

4. In a speed controlled mechanism the combination with a centrifugal governor, a

rotatable shaft, means to rotate the said shaft, a centrifugal contact member carried by the said shaft, the said contact member tending to be thrown outwardly by the power of centrifugal force when the said shaft is rotated, a ring member having an inside wall adapted to be engaged by the said contact member, the said wall being of larger diameter on that edge thereof towards the outside of the said mechanism, than on its other edge, and means to longitudinally adjust the position of the said ring in direction of its axis, said contact member entering the said ring member at the smaller end, said larger outside end presenting a flared opening to admit a tool for purpose of adjustment and inspection of the said contact member.

5. In a spring governor the combination with a spring, a rotatable shaft, one end of the said spring being secured to the said shaft, the other end being adapted to be deflected by centrifugal force when the said shaft is rotated, anannular ring member, said member being mounted so that its inner wall may be engaged by the end of the said spring when the said spring is deflected by the power of the centrifugal force, the said wall being inclined toward the axis of rotation of the said shaft, and toward the point of support of the said spring, a frame, and a perforation in the said frame, said perforation having an inside threaded surface,

an outside thread for the said ring, said ring being adapted to be placed in the said perforation and longitudinally adjusted along the axis of rotation of the said shaft by rotating the said ring in the said threaded perforation, the end of the said spring entering the said ring member at its smaller end, the larger outside end of the ring presenting a flared opening to admit a tool for the pur pose of adjustment and inspection of the said spring end and the said inner wall.

6. In a speed controlled mechanism the combination with a centrifugal governor, a rotatable shaft, means to rotate the said shaft, a centrifugal contact member carried by the said shaft, the said contact member tending to be thrown outwardly by the power of centrifugal force when the said shaft is rotated, a rin member having an inside wall adapted to he engaged by the said contact member, the said wall being of larger diameter on that edge thereof towards the outside of the said mechanism, than on its other edge, a frame, and a perforation in the said frame, said erforation having an inside threaded surface, an outside thread for the said ring, said ring being adapted to be placed in the said perforation and longi tudinally adjusted along the axis of rotation of said shaft by rotating the said ring in the said threaded perforation, said contact member entering the said ring member at its smaller end, said contact member and said insidenwall of said ring member being adapted to be viewed through the larger flared opening at the other end of the said ring member.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 6th day of Sept, A. D. 1919.

WILLIAM W. DEAN. 

